Registration is still open for ITMO Mega Contest, where winners get the chance to enroll in the university’s Master’s programs without entrance exams. Once registered, participants gain access to demo tasks and have the chance to practice. We asked the contest’s developers about the best ways to revise and train for the contest. Read on to find out their best advice.

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Why and how to join ITMO Mega Contest

ITMO Mega Contest is your chance to not only test your knowledge in a specific field, but to also get into one of ITMO’s Master’s programs without taking the entrance exams. Registration is ongoing and will be open until January 14. Learn more about joining the contest here. 

Registered participants will soon be able to access the demo versions of the tasks in each track of the contest. Solving them is one way to better prepare for the actual contest tasks. Choose the track that interests you most – for international students, the tracks are Robotics and Physics – and learn their developers’ best tips.

Preparing for the Physics track

The tasks. Participants will have to solve theoretical problems in various domains of physics – from classical mechanics to quantum physics. These problems will be similar to those included in the programs of years 1-2 of university – but on a harder level.

What to revise. It’s recommended to review all general physics topics, including the main formulas, and look through guidebooks on lab assignments. Spend some extra time revising optics and quantum mechanics – statistically speaking, these tend to be the most challenging. 

How to use the demo tasks. According to Dmitry Bykov, the track’s organizer and moderator and an admissions manager at the School of Physics and Engineering, last year the fields of thermodynamics and optics received the least amount of correct answers – so, he recommends paying extra attention to related tasks in the demo version. 

Helpful resources to look into. Among the recommended textbooks are Общий курс физики. В 5 т. Д. В. Сивухин (2005), Курс физики в 5-ти томах А. Н. Матвеев (1983), and Курс общей физики: учебное пособие для вузов: в 5 томах» И. В. Савельев (2022).

If you are looking to compete in Russian, ITMO Mega Contest offers a total of 25 tracks in 11 subject fields, from programming to chemistry, including Software Engineering and Computer Technologies; Artificial Intelligence; Data Analytics, and more. Learn more about the tracks available in Russian on the Russian version of the contest’s official website.